The market is down:
“Traders worried about
Chinese, Indian economies.”
An election looms like a
slightly soggy phoenix; there
is nothing more hopeful
than an American election,
and nothing more disappointing.
Jobs are scarce; the newspaper
blurbed a few lines about the
chronically unemployed
between the heavy treatises on
Lindsay Lohan’s ill legalities and
a 10-year-old singing Puccini.
And I have to go to the dentist.
Do think of those Puccini arias while you're in the chair.
ReplyDeleteThough the news is dismal, it can be a good practice to go through the paper and imagine how a poem might come from it. One poet I know of goes through articles blacking out all but a few lines of text and then crafts a poem from what's left. Thinking of poetry while reading bad news also can take the edge off the bad news, if not entirely make you forget about what you're reading.
I like your poem, which seems to go with today's date: Friday the 13th, although let's hope the stock market today recovers.
Seriously, I love the end of this poem and not because its the end :) but because it is such a twist.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Michael -- love the end -- do you really have to go to the dentist?
ReplyDeleteI do not like dentists -- and my dislike is entirely irrational but it doesn't matter.
And I love Maureen's idea... maybe 'newspaper poetry' is a genre that needs exploring!
Hope the visit goes without any pain.
Prayers for peace in the midst of it all, and comfort in knowing that God works it all for good and allows you to use everything in your writing to move the hearts of others!
ReplyDeleteOkay. :) Love the ending.
ReplyDeleteAre we feeling a bit cynical today? In an odd way, it looks good on you.
slightly soggy phoenix...
ReplyDeletetip-top touch.
Perfect ending. Really perfect.
ReplyDeleteYesterday I watched the news for the first time in a long time. It sounded as if the announcers were all on some sort of doomsday kick. They made everything sound just awful. Is that a prerequisite to make as an anchor person?
"there is nothing more hopeful
ReplyDeletethan an American election,
and nothing more disappointing"
You got that right...
I loved the dentist ending! Delightiful!
I'm trying to wean myself from my attachment to the news. You described the frustration I feel perfectly--the hope-disappointment sandwiched between Lohan and the latest child prodigy.
ReplyDeleteAll that bad news and the dentist too. Life really can be burdensome Glynn. It is amazing what qualifies as newsworthy these days.
ReplyDelete